You’ve seen it a thousand times. Every June, a group of exhausted, sweat-soaked giants huddles around a gleaming golden ball on a podium while confetti rains down like neon snow. They kiss it. They hug it. Sometimes, they even pour expensive champagne over it. But if you asked the average fan at the parade the actual name of nba championship trophy, you’d probably get a blank stare or a generic "the championship trophy."
It’s called the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a mouthful. Most people just call it "the Larry." But there’s a lot more to this 30-pound chunk of silver and gold than just a cool name. It isn’t just a static piece of hardware that’s been around since the dawn of the league. It has a political backstory, a secret redesign, and a manufacturing process that’s more "luxury jewelry" than "sports equipment."
Why Larry O'Brien? (The Man Behind the Metal)
So, who was Larry? He wasn't a player. He never hit a game-winning jumper or blocked a shot in his life. Before he was the NBA Commissioner from 1975 to 1984, Larry O'Brien was a heavy hitter in the world of American politics.
We’re talking "Special Assistant to JFK" levels of influence. He was the U.S. Postmaster General. He was even the chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the Watergate break-in. Basically, he was a master of logistics and negotiation. When he moved over to the NBA, he used those same skills to pull off the ABA-NBA merger, which basically saved the league from financial ruin and brought us teams like the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets.
The league renamed the trophy after him in 1984 to say thanks for not letting the NBA go bankrupt.
Before that, the prize was known as the Walter A. Brown Trophy. Walter Brown was the original owner of the Boston Celtics and a huge figure in the league’s early days. Back then, the trophy was like the NHL’s Stanley Cup—you didn’t keep it. You had it for a year, then you had to pass it to the next winner. That changed in 1977. Now, every team gets their own permanent trophy to keep in their facility forever.
The Secret 2022 Redesign You Might Have Missed
For the NBA’s 75th anniversary, they decided the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy needed a facelift. They teamed up with artist Victor Solomon and the legendary jewelers at Tiffany & Co. to modernize the look.
If you look closely at the "new" Larry, you'll notice it leans forward now. That’s intentional. It’s supposed to symbolize the league looking toward the future. They also changed the base. It used to be a square block, which was apparently a nightmare for players to hold during the celebration. Now, it sits on two stacked discs.
What’s on the base?
- The Top Disc: This lists the first 75 NBA champions from 1947 to 2021.
- The Bottom Disc: This is basically "reserved seating" for the next 25 years of winners, leading up to the league's 100th anniversary in 2046.
- The Underside: There’s a hidden NBA Finals logo etched on the very bottom of the trophy.
The most surprising change? The weight. The old trophy was around 15 or 16 pounds. The new version is a beast, weighing in at roughly 30 pounds. Imagine trying to hoist that over your head after playing 48 minutes of playoff basketball. It's essentially a heavy-duty workout.
How It’s Actually Made
This isn't some plastic award you buy at a local trophy shop. Every single Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy is handcrafted at the Tiffany & Co. hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
It starts as sterling silver. The artisans use ancient techniques like spinning, silversmithing, and engraving to create the shape of a regulation-sized basketball falling into a net. Once the silver structure is perfect, they "vermeil" it—which is just a fancy way of saying they coat it in 24-karat gold.
The ball itself has silver lines to represent the seams of a basketball, and the net is etched directly into the support structure. It takes about six months to finish one. That’s why you can’t just "order a replacement" if a player drops it during a parade (which has happened—looking at you, 1994 Houston Rockets).
The Heirarchy of Hardware
The Larry isn't the only trophy handed out, but it's definitely the "final boss." To get there, teams have to collect a few other pieces of renamed hardware:
- The Bob Cousy Trophy: Awarded to the winner of the Eastern Conference.
- The Oscar Robertson Trophy: Awarded to the winner of the Western Conference.
- The Bill Russell Trophy: This goes to the NBA Finals MVP.
In 2022, they made the Bill Russell trophy all gold to match the Larry O’Brien. Before that, it was silver. It makes sense—if you’re the best player on the championship team, your trophy shouldn't look like the "budget" version of the big one.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that the trophy has always looked like this. Nope. From 1947 to 1976, it looked more like a traditional football trophy or a tall cup. The "ball-and-hoop" design we love today didn't even exist until 1977.
Another weird fact? The team doesn't actually get the trophy the second the buzzer sounds. They get a "presentation" trophy for the ceremony, but the final, engraved version with their team name and the series score is usually delivered later once the jeweler has time to finish the custom etching.
👉 See also: Walter Payton NFC All Pro Card: What Most Collectors Get Wrong
Also, despite what people think, the trophy isn't solid gold. If it were solid 24k gold and that size, it would weigh hundreds of pounds and be worth millions just in melt value. It’s sterling silver with a thick gold skin. Still incredibly valuable, but you can actually lift it (if you’re an NBA athlete, anyway).
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you want to see the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in person, you don't have to win a title. Here is how you can actually get close to it:
- Visit the Hall of Fame: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, often has an official trophy on display, especially during the off-season.
- Check the "Trophy Tour": The NBA often sends the trophy on a global tour (the "Larry O'Brien Trophy Tour") to major cities during the playoffs or the pre-season.
- Arena Displays: Most teams that have won a title keep their trophies in a glass case in the main concourse of their home arena. The Lakers and Celtics have massive collections you can see during any home game.
- Virtual Reality: If you have a Meta Quest headset, the NBA often hosts a "Trophy Room" in Horizon Worlds where you can inspect high-res digital 3D models of the new 75th-anniversary designs.
Next time you're watching the Finals and the announcer mentions the name of nba championship trophy, you'll know exactly why that gold ball exists, who Larry was, and why it's so much heavier than it looks. It's 30 pounds of history, politics, and Rhode Island craftsmanship.
For your next deep dive into league history, you might want to look into the specific history of the Bill Russell Finals MVP award to see how its selection process has changed over the decades.